


Shepard Has Too Much Free Time (Garrus Has None)

by StrandsofNehn



Series: Viola Shepard [3]
Category: Mass Effect
Genre: F/M, Post Mass Effect 2, Pre Mass Effect 3, prison must be boring, shepards forced downtime routine
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-11
Updated: 2015-11-11
Packaged: 2018-05-01 04:25:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,523
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5192282
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StrandsofNehn/pseuds/StrandsofNehn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Shepard deals with being in an Alliance Detention Center, Garrus deals with Reaper Prep, both deal with missing each other.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Shepard Has Too Much Free Time (Garrus Has None)

"Commander."

"James."

"That's a hell of a look, but its not gonna stop me from saluting you."

"It may one day."

"Of course, ma'am."

"I'm detecting some insincerity there, LT."

"Well, former Commander, that's because there was." 

She huffs, but she's smiling. Banter like this is always nice. James had grown out of his shell, or something. Warmed up to her, maybe, but either way: it's good to have someone around who she can, if not actually, verbally spar with.

_Let's test your reach and my flexibility._

... Yeah. That is the draw back to James. As fun as he is, he makes her miss Garrus. He'd have so much fun messing with the kid. It'd be hilarious to bring them on the away team. Or, James and Tali. Oh lord, that would be something she'd pay to see.

Well, assuming that Kal hasn't made a move on her Qurian best friend. She hopes he at least stopped with the whole ma'am thing. Well, actually maybe Tali likes that. Stopping. Shepard really doesn't want to know.

James leaves with the promise of taking her to the gym later. It's about the only truly fun thing she gets to do in here. She walks around what has been her home for these past months and tries to amuse herself. She's unsuccessful for the most part.

She leans her head on the window overlooking Vancouver. It's winter now. She had forgotten what it felt like to see the seasons change. It is beautiful for certain.

The new flakes cause her heart clutch a bit in homesickness but she's not sure for where. Mindoir? Her dead family? Aunt Patty? The Normandy? Brazil maybe? No, none of them sounded right.

Is... is she feeling romantic?

Oh, fuck. She is. 

See, this is the result of watching too many badly acted, wholesome, romance movies with her mom in adolescence. It's snowing and she has the overwhelming desire to cuddle with someone she loves. 

Garrus. 

No, no, no. 

Ahem. No. 

No, love is a word she refuses to utter- not with him. Even in the- _especially_ within the confines of her mind. Garrus Vakarian will not be paired with that word. There's no room for it. The empty expanse of her detention unit suggests otherwise but she has made her decision.

Love will not be a word she will even think in the same sentence as his name. Not now, not yet and if she never sees him again, not ever. If... if she never sees him again it will be tagged to him like it is tagged to Kaidan, and her unit on Akuze if he does-- but nothing more. She can't handle _more_.

It's a quiet promise she makes to herself, but not one that keeps her from missing him. She thinks about him a lot. Not just him, she thinks of Mindoir, Eden Prime, Ilos, Cerberus, Illium, Omega, the Collectors. And always, the Alpha Relay.

She can't pretend it doesn't bother her. Hardass as she may be she doesn't believe in crushing everyone underfoot. Let the innocent remain that way and the bastards get what's coming to them.

Most of those people she killed were slaves. It's a reality she has... trouble dealing with. And the thought of Dante, her mom and dad, Mrs. Fielden down the way, even that ass Wil that broke her brother's heart for the first time, being down there, even though she knows full well they are dead, kills her.

Usually when she thinks too hard about it she starts meditating like Samara had taught her. Levitating and controlling that damn ball is harder than it looks and kept her focus on conditioning her biotics instead of... everything else. Especially since she found out 'just letting it go' ended up in a stray ball of dark energy that liked to go any which way and accidentally make a big hole in her cabinets.

Samara admittedly never did teach her the ball thing. It just looked cool.

Her fingers twitched. She needs to get to the gym soon. Maybe James can take her early? Maybe she should start painting again. It's been years since Akuze, more since Mindior but both her shrinks approved of it as a way of coping. And that's what she is doing, right? Coping. Dealing with the problem. She has to deal with this. This can not, will not be a factor when the Reapers show. And it _is_  when they show.

Sometimes she wishes she was just as crazy and delusional as the propaganda vids say. What a dream come true it would be if the Reapers were just a bad hallucination from the Prothean Beacon.

She snorts and crosses her legs to sit like Samara had shown her.

When has she ever been that lucky?

Well...

Stop it, Vi. You are not making sex jokes in your head. It's just pathetic. What are you, fifteen? She groans. Garrus again. He keeps hounding her. Now  _that_ \--

Viola. Freaking. Shepard.

Get a hold of yourself.

It's like a game, a game of what else can she turn into an innuendo? Good thing Jack and Kasumi aren't here. She'd lose. She doesn't like losing. Playing against Tali would be fun though. Playing with Garrus would be **more**  fun.

Fuck. Jesus. Shut it.

Where is James? She needs to go blow something up.

 

***

 

Garrus misses her, but tries not to think about it too much. That only works so well when he's also head of the 'Reaper Task Force'. He's constantly reminded of her, this is a fight she started after all, he's merely doing what he can in her temporary absence. Temporary because that's what it is. The Reapers will show up and Shepard will be proven right all along and become the savior of the galaxy, _again._  He scoffs quietly.

Idiots.

How many times did you have to save someone from a forewarned threat before you were taken seriously? More than several, apparently. Not that he's bitter, more astounded that someone so stupid could be allowed to be in such an advanced office of galactic government. And by astounded he means unsuprised and annoyed.

Kyra looks at him and Garrus realizes too late his subharmonics are humming with distaste.

He stops, hums a causal note and quiets entirely. She just gives him a knowing look before going back to work.

Kyra is his favorite person to work with on the team, as small as they are. She's quiet, observant and efficient. And, as he recently discovered, quite terrifying if you are the poor bastard that tells her she can't do her job. He would like her just for that even if she wasn't the most effective member of the team.

He goes back to his own task, reaching out to colonies and preping them as much as he can to give them a chance. Hopefully it'll make a difference for them.

He skims the characters of the list, not comprehending anything but barely noticing. He misses her. Hopefully she misses him, too. He would be okay if she didn't, it would hurt but he would be okay with it. If she does miss him, well. Well... he isn't sure what he would do then. Spirits, human customs still don't make any sense to him. There are so many ways to mess things up. Turian customs are much more straightforward.

He eyes the datapad with new interest. Some more... research can't hurt.

He excuses himself quickly, not that Kyra pays him any attention, and heads to his office. Because he has an office now. Sitting in his chair he pulls up a extranet search on his omnitool. He has learned from previous experience that you have to be careful what key words you use. And, as much as the vids of... things are... interesting, what he wants to learn is more... delicate.

He hums to himself, decides on some key words and has to stop himself from coughing ridiculously when he sees the search result.

Apparently an extranet search on "romantic human reunion protocol" is _not_ a viable research strategy. 

 

***

 

It's not what she expected, but it is for him. Their relationship had always involved large amounts of gunfire.

She thinks she may have finally lost it when she sees him. 

"I'm hard to kill, you should know that." 

If it were any other time she would have made some stupid, inappropriate offhanded reference to their first night together. Now, she just revels in the feeling of his hands on hers. He's supposed to be on Palaven and she tells him as much. He's as direct, calm, and realistic as ever and she relishes it.

He notices the gleam in her eyes when she does and thinks she looks good. Healthier, her forced rest, it seems, was good for her.

He keeps professional as ever, theirs was never a public arrangement or even an official one. But, that doesn't keep his heart from beating faster when she looks at him with that smile. 

"You coming, Garrus?"

Her heart is hammering even before he laughs, "You kidding? I'm right behind you!"

**Author's Note:**

> This one kind of fizzled out but I hope you guys like it. As always, feedback is most welcome!
> 
> Alright so I added on to this twice but I'm done now!! Let me know if you guys catch any cannon deference.


End file.
